The invention concerns a timber support for the construction industry, comprising a top girder and a bottom girder which are interconnected using a joining element, wherein a girder end protection cap is provided, which surrounds the end of the girder. Timber supports of this type are used e.g. as supports for a framework for concrete structures to be cast, in particular, for concrete ceilings and walls.
Timber supports of this type are disclosed e.g. in the documents AT 409 013 B or DE 103 05 613 A1. The joining element or its parts are normally glued to the girders via tongue and groove connections. The girders are thereby produced from natural wood.
Timber supports of this type have the problem that, in particular, in case of improper handling at the building site, the ends of the girders may be easily damaged. The ends are likely to be abraded when the timber support is dragged along e.g. a concrete surface during transport thereof. However, the main cause of damage are impacts onto the girder ends, e.g. when the timber support is dropped, in which case the girder ends may be chipped. AT 409 013 B proposes protective caps for the girder ends which are pushed onto the girder ends and fastened thereto using hollow rivets. This type of fastening damages the wood of the girder itself, which increases its tendency to chip when the girder end is struck.
The girder ends of document DE 103 05 613 A1 are protected by a plastic cover that is e.g. cast or overmolded, thereby preventing the above-mentioned material weakening of the girder wood. However, these caps or plastic covers that are used as girder end protection have the problem that plastic material is subjected to ageing processes which make it brittle. Plastic material becomes brittle e.g. through the action of the ultraviolet radiation of sunlight. In particular, when a timber support falls onto a plastic cap of this type, the protection often does not withstand the resulting high load and the cap bursts with the result that the associated girder end is no longer protected.
It is the underlying purpose of the invention to provide a timber support for the construction industry, which eliminates the disadvantages of prior art, in particular, reliably prevents chipping of the timber support girder ends using simple means.
This object is achieved by the timber support in accordance with the independent claim. The dependent claims are preferred embodiments of the invention.